Crimean Tatars honor 5th death anniversary of Shakir Selim

Simferopol (QHA) - Five years ago, on November 18, a prominent Crimean Tatar poet and translator Shakir Selim passed away.
Shakir Selim was a true patriot. Thanks to his heritage, he continues to live in memories of Crimean Tatar people and will be remembered for generations.
Shakir Selim was born on April 10, 1942 in Crimea. During deportation his family was sent to Uzbekistan along with other Crimean Tatars. In Uzbekistan, he graduated from the philological faculty of Samarkand University and worked as a teacher.
He started to be published in 1963. For many years he was a correspondent for the newspaper “Lenin bayragi” in Samarkand region and headed the department of programs in Crimean Tatar language of Samarkand regional radio.
In 1989 he returned to Crimea and was deputy editor of newspaper “Dostluk”, which was published in Crimean Tatar language in Simferopol. From 1997 until the last years of his life Shakir Selim was chief editor of “Yildiz” magazine.
Shakir Selim is also known as a skilled translator. He is the author of excellent translations into Crimean Tatar language of A. Pushkin’s poem (“The Prisoner of the Caucasus”), poems of M. Lermontov, T. Shevtchenko (poem “Katerina”) and others. The Crimean Tatar Drama Theater staged a number of performances translated by Shakir Selim.
Shakir Selim was a member of the Union of Writers of USSR (1982) and member of Union of writers of Ukraine; he was awarded a number of international literature awards. He passed away on November 18, 2008 in Simferopol.